


The World Keeper and the Shadow Prince

by Ahrima



Category: Original Work
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 17:51:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18833701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahrima/pseuds/Ahrima
Summary: A world is guided by a prince.





	The World Keeper and the Shadow Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe will make another chapter but i dunno.

Please listen to what I have to say:  
When a world is dying, often by natural disaster or invasion, the guardian tiger deep in its core might awaken, and hide the world in the form of man.

It is true that appearances differ from one world to the next, though it is generally agreed that guardian tigers resemble Your tigers, only instead of paws, it has reptilian features, and a mouth like Your crocodile’s. Sometimes, however, this creature also has wings wide outstretched as long as a sun.

But that is only a tangent.

A world keeper is the name of worlds hidden in the form of man. These beings appear in the Shadow of Lands, and are guided by the shadow keepers to the Light of Lands, where the worlds might be renewed.

I am a shadow keeper, specifically, I am the shadow prince. My apologies, perhaps if you were misguided to believe I was the world keeper. For you see, my people do not see ourselves more important than a being of thousands. Therefore, I deliberately wrote the important being before myself.  
A shadow prince is much different from a shadow keeper, but not so. To prove worthiness of royalty, All of my siblings and I must become a shadow keeper and guide a world keeper once. The shadow keepers are the epitome of perseverance, and show traits that many commoners do not have. If I do not succeed in guiding a world keeper, then there is nothing that separates me from that of the commoners.

Today, I have come to the Library to meet the world keeper I must guide, for all worlds awaken in the Library. Why, none can say.

Beneath the colored mosaic which describes no beauty and has no meaning, stood the world keeper. I walked in the hallway, where long and narrow with bookcases of dusty, blank literature standing tall on each side. I stared at the world keeper, whose back was turned from me, and I wondered what their expression on their face was like. The face is the window to the souls, who stand immobile from whatever horror they were fearing at the time of the guardian tiger’s awakening. It is often easy to guess, or to decipher what happened to a world by the world keeper’s expression.

However, I approached the world keeper and stood before them. They turned around, and by the faint light of the mosaic, I could see that they were expressionless. It made me curious, but curiosity is not my job. Curiosity is dangerous.

I broke the silence between the world keeper and I.

“Are you the world keeper?” I asked, for the sake of formality. 

“Yes.” they hardly whispered.

“I am here to guide you.” I stated, stretching my hand out with an open palm.

And I felt a slither. Coming from my spine, curling around my arm, a head of a snake popped up. Temptation.  
It, Temptation, spoke to me and only me. It told me how nice it would be to feel the innards of the world keeper, to murder the world keeper and hear their blood curdling scream…

Everyone of the Shadow of Lands has Temptation strung on their spine. The difference between the commoners and of royalty is if one does as Temptation says. My sister, as she guided a world, listened to Temptation. She slaughtered the world and rid it of its thousands of souls. She is not royalty anymore, but rather a killer, lurking the streets. No one of the streets care to rid her. She is respected, despite being not of the crown anymore.

I had a choice to become like my sister. 

But I decided against it.I told Temptation no, and it was silenced for the time being. The world keeper watched, with no word to say of it. They did not show any fear of what had happened, and it made me wonder.

With Temptation sneaking back to where it came from, the world keeper did not take my still outstretched arm. Instead, they nodded, to tell me to lead the way. I did not know how to respond, so I bowed my head and turned around. Their steps echoed mine, as we walked along the hallway. For me, it was simply backtracking, but for them it was all new. I wanted to ask the world keeper what newness felt like, but refrained. Curiosity is dangerous.


End file.
